Dashboards#
Scrutinizer further enhances diverse network and security workflows through user-configurable dashboards, which can be configured and accessed via the Monitor > Dashboards page of the web interface.
Teams can set up and save any number of fully customized dashboards, allowing for the use of purpose-built views to address even the most unique monitoring or investigative requirements.
This section discusses the features and functions accessed via the Monitor > Dashboards tab/section of the web interface, and includes detailed guides for the creation, customization, and management of dashboards.
On this page:
Creating a new dashboard#
Creating a dashboard in the Monitor > Dashboards page allows users to enhance various network and security workflows by enabling tailored views to meet even the most specific monitoring or investigative needs. It also allows users to switch between different unique views to organize monitoring requirements and workflows. Creating at least one dashboard is highly recommended when setting up a new Scrutinizer environment.
To create a new dashboard, follow these steps:
View instructions
Click the Dashboard Options (gear) icon, and then click Add New Dashboard.
Enter a unique name for the dashboard.
[Optional] Tick the Default Dashboard checkbox to set the dashboard as the default for the current user.
[Optional] Tick the Read Only checkbox to lock the dashboad configuration.
[Optional] Select one or more gadgets to add to the new dashboard in the Gadget Selection list.
When done, click Save to create the new dashboard with the selected gadgets, if any.
Once the dashboard has been created, it will replace the current view and can be accessed via Dashboard Options > All Dashboards at any time.
Hint
Gadgets can be added to or removed from a dashboard at any time.
An existing dashboard can be used as a base for a new dashboard by creating and editing a copy.
Welcome dashboard
New Plixer One or Scrutinizer deployments will have a default welcome dashboard to assist with the setup/configuration process.
View details
The welcome dashboard will be populated with the following gadgets:
Configuration Checklist - Displays the completion percentage of the configuration checklist for new deployments
Quick Start - Contains links to documentation for dashboard functions
Enabled Exporters - Shows the current utilization of the active license’s maximum exporter count
Alarm Monitor - Displays a graphic summary of alarms generated within the last 24 hours, categorized by severity
Contact Us - Provides Plixer’s contact information for additional support.
Viewing dashboards#
The Monitor > Dashboards view will always default to the current user’s default dashboard. Clicking the Dashboard List (gauge) button opens a tray where other existing dashboards can be accessed.
Hint
A user’s default dashboard can be set in the Edit Dashboard tray or as a user preference via the Admin > Users & Groups > User Accounts view.
Other dashboards (all, current user, or user group) can also be accessed from the Dashboard Options tray.
Full-screen mode#
The Full Screen option expands the dashboard to occupy the entire screen, maximizing the space available for viewing data visualizations and insights. This feature can be ideal for large displays in NOCs.
While in full-screen mode, the bottom toolbar includes additional options to refresh all gadgets at once or edit the gadget layout.
Editing/customizing dashboards#
Existing dashboards can be modified or further customized by clicking the Edit Dashboard icon (pencil icon). A dashboard cannot be modified if it has been set to read-only. To edit an existing dashboard but retain a copy of its current state, create a copy of the dashboard before making changes.
Adding/removing gadgets#
To add a predefined or existing custom gadget to a dashboard, follow these steps:
View instructions
Click the Edit Dashboard (pencil) icon.
Under Gadgets, click the Add Existing Gadget (+) button.
Select a gadget category (or use the search field):
Select the gadgets to add using the checkboxes.
Gadgets are added to the dashboard as they are selected. To remove gadgets, click on the Delete (trash icon) in the gadget list in the Edit Dashboard tray.
Hint
Click Modify/Rename in the Edit Dashboard tray to edit the current dashboard’s name. Read-only mode (locks the dashboard’s current configuration) can also be toggled on or off from the same tray.
Gadget layout#
After gadgets have been added to a dashboard, clicking the Edit Gadget Layout button enables a layout-edit mode where gadgets can be resized and repositioned as desired.
To save the new layout and toggle the edit mode off, click the button a second time.
Dashboard management#
The Dashboard Options (gear button) tray provides access to the following dashboard management functions:
Deleting dashboards
To delete an existing dashboard, select All Dashboards in the tray, and then click the corresponding delete icon in the secondary tray. Dashboards can also be deleted from the Dashboard Edit tray by selecting Remove This Dashboard in the Options section.
Users that do not have the Dashboard Admin permission are unable to delete dashboards created by other users. Dashboards that are set as default or read-only cannot be deleted.
Copying dashboards
Selecting Copy This Dashboard creates a copy of the current dashboard with a specified name. This option can be used to create a modified dashboard configuration (add/remove gadgets, change layout, etc.) without overwriting the source dashboard’s current state.
Copies can also be created from Dashboard Edit tray.
Deleting gadgets
To delete an existing gadget, select All Gadgets, and then click the corresponding delete icon in the secondary tray.
The search field and gadget category dropdown can also be used to filter the list.
Managing user and user group access
Users with the Dashboard Admin permission can grant or restrict access to dashboards by user or by user group.
To grant a user or user group access to one or more existing dashboards:
Click User Dashboards/User Group Dashboards.
In the secondary tray, select the user/user group from the dropdown.
Use the checkboxes to select the dashboards the user or group can access.
Click the Save button to save any changes made.
Once granted access to a dashboard, the user/group member will be able to view and copy any dashboard. However, they will not be able to edit or delete dashboards created by other users.
Note
To fully access a dashboard, a user must also be granted access to the dashboard’s gadgets through their user group.
A user can only manage dashboard access for other members of their user group(s). Additionally, they are only able to grant access to dashboards that have been created by members of their user group(s).
Dashboard gadgets#
Scrutinizer dashboards can be tailored to any workflow or role using any combination of gadget types and configurations.
Once a gadget has been added to a dashboard, it will automatically refresh and can be clicked to access more detailed views.
Hint
A refresh progress bar and countdown is displayed in the header of each gadget. Clicking the refresh button will force an update and reset the refresh timer.
A gadget’s default refresh time (5 minutes) can be changed by editing the gadget’s properties.
Gadget categories#
When adding gadgets to a dashboard, available gadgets are divided into the following categories:
Custom - User-defined iFrame or interface gadgets
Flow Analytics - Gadgets for monitoring alarm information
Flow Reports - Reports that have been saved and exported for use as gadgets
Maps - Gadget versions of existing network maps
Plixer - Auxiliary gadgets for monitoring system functions/features
Top n - Gadgets for monitoring top entities associated with specified metrics
Vendor Reports - Gadgets that report data from other Plixer One platform components or third-party integrations
Vitals - Gadgets for monitoring system vitals
Flow report gadgets#
After a report has been saved, it can be exported as a gadget and used to monitor the configured network performance or behavior from a dashboard.
Report gadgets can be configured to show only the graph, only the table, or both. The type of visualization used can also be specified as part of the gadget configuration.
See also
See this page to learn more about configuring and managing reports.
Map gadgets#
Network maps automatically become available as gadgets upon creation, allowing users to monitor one or more mapped topographies from the same dashboard.
If the source map configuration is updated at a later time, the changes will be reflected in the gadget when it is next refreshed.
See also
See this page to learn more about creating and customizing network maps.
Custom gadgets#
Scrutinizer dashboards support two types of custom gadgets:
Interface gadgets visualize activity details for one or more specified exporters and/or interfaces.
To create a new interface gadget:
Enter dashboard edit mode, and then click the Create New Gadget button in the tray.
Select Interfaces as the type in the secondary tray.
Configure the display options (auto-refresh interval, activity metric, etc.) for the gadget.
Select the exporters and/or interfaces to monitor in the gadget.
Click Save To Dashboard.
Once saved, the gadget will be added to the current dashboard. It will also be made available when adding gadgets to other dashboards.
iFrame gadgets can be used to display another webpage (including external pages) in a dashboard.
To create a new iFrame gadget:
Enable external links(see below) in Scrutinizer if not already enabled (required).
Enter dashboard edit mode, and then click the Create New Gadget button in the tray.
Select iFrame as the type in the secondary tray.
Enter the URL for the page to display (must include the
http(s)://prefix).Click Save To Dashboard.
Once saved, the gadget will be added to the current dashboard. It will also be made available when adding gadgets to other dashboards.
Note
Certain HTTP content may not load if Scrutinizer is configured to use HTTPS.
Enabling external links
To be able to create and use custom iFrame gadgets, external URLs must be allowed on the primary Scrutinizer reporter.
Note
The NOAA Weather gadget (included in the Plixer gadget category) also requires external URLs to be enabled.
External URLs are disabled by default and can be enabled as follows:
View instructions
On the primary reporter, comment out the following line in the
location /uiandlocation /olduiblocks in/etc/nginx/webapp.d/conf/plixer-nginx-server.conf:add_header Content-Security-Policy "frame-src 'self';"Important
The line must be commented out in both blocks.
Restart the relevant services:
sudo service nginx restart sudo service memcached restart
Once the services have been restarted, the option to create custom iFrame gadgets will be available in the dashboard settings tray.
Editing a gadget#
After a gadget has been added to a dashboard, its properties can be updated by entering the dashboard edit mode and clicking the edit/pencil icon in the Gadgets section of the tray.
Once the desired changes have been made, click Save to save the new gadget configuration.
Managing access to gadgets#
Access to gadgets can be managed as part of user group permissions as follows:
View instructions
Navigate to Admin > Users & Groups > User Groups.
Click on the name of the user group to modify.
In the tray, click the edit/pencil icon for Dashboard Gadgets.
Use the checkboxes to select the gadgets to be made available to members of the user group (or tick the All Gadgets checkbox to grant access to all gadgets).
Changes are automatically saved as gadgets are selected.